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S.Korea, US set to hold joint military drills

Some 30 allied field training events are scheduled to take place during the exercise period…reports Asian Lite News

South Korea and the US are set to kick off major combined military drills this week as the allies seek to bolster joint readiness against evolving military threats from North Korea.

The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, based on an all-out war scenario, is set to take place from Monday to August 31, featuring various contingency drills, such as the computer simulation-based command post exercise, concurrent field training and Ulchi civil defence drills, Yonhap news agency reported.

Some 30 allied field training events are scheduled to take place during the exercise period, compared with 25 during this year’s springtime Freedom Shield exercise and 13 in last year’s UFS, according to a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official.

This year’s UFS is known to include scenarios to train troops to swiftly transition into wartime as well as to respond to false information possibly spread by Pyongyang during wartime or a contingency.

In addition to the allies’ Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine personnel, US space forces will also partake in the drills, according to the US Forces Korea (USFK).

The US military launched the US Space Forces Korea, a USFK component, in December last year.

Aside from South Korean and US participants, personnel from nine member countries of the UN Command (UNC) will join the exercise. The countries are the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand, according to the USFK.

The UNC is a key enforcer of the armistice that halted the fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.

The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, an observer of the armistice, will also attend the drills. The commission has representatives from Sweden and Switzerland.

Meanwhile, the South Korean military is strengthening its readiness posture against possible military activities by Pyongyang during the exercise period, such as ballistic missile launches.

The North has long accused the allies’ military drills of being rehearsals for an invasion against it, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently calling for a “drastic boost” in the country’s missile production capability and for war contingency preparations in an “offensive” manner.

Seoul’s spy agency told lawmakers Thursday during a closed-door briefing that the North is preparing various provocations in time for the combined drills, such as an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

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S.Korea, US, Japan hold missile defence drills

The drills took place as the three countries have been reinforcing security coordination amid Pyongyang’s firing of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM last Wednesday….reports Asian Lite News

South Korea, the US and Japan staged a trilateral missile defence exercise in the international waters of the East Sea on Sunday, Seoul’s Navy said, after North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last week.

The drills took place as the three countries have been reinforcing security coordination amid Pyongyang’s firing of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM last Wednesday.

The exercise featured three Aegis-equipped destroyers — the South’s ROKS Yulgok Yi I, the US’ USS John Finn and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s JS Maya, Yonhap news agency reported, citing the South Korean armed service.

Under a scenario of a ballistic missile launch by North Korea, the exercise focused on practicing procedures to detect and track a computer-simulated ballistic missile target, and share related information, it said.

“This exercise served as an opportunity to enhance our military’s response capabilities against ballistic missiles and improve security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan,” a Navy official was quoted as saying.

“Based on our military’s powerful response system and trilateral coordination, (we) will effectively respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” the official added.

The three countries last held such a three-way missile defence exercise in April. Sunday’s exercise marked the fourth one under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which has made efforts to bolster trilateral cooperation against Pyongyang’s military threats.

In a show of force against the North’s ICBM launch, South Korea and the US also staged combined air drills Thursday, involving a US B-52H strategic bomber.

ALSO READ: N Korea confirms test-firing of Hwasong-18 ICBM

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S.Korea eyes UNSC seat

If elected, it will mark the third time for South Korea to serve as one of the 10 non-permanent UNSC members…reports Asian Lite News

South Korean diplomats have made their final pitch for Seoul’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC).

South Korea, which last sat on the council in 2013-2014, aims to return to the council for 2024-2025, and the UN will vote on the bid on Tuesday, reports Yonhap News Agency.

If elected, it will mark the third time for South Korea to serve as one of the 10 non-permanent UNSC members.

Previously, South Korea had served the seat during the 1996-1997 term.

South Korea hopes to return to the council as it seeks to expand its roles in UN activities for international peace and security.

It would also help reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Seoul diplomats have said.

North Korea, which has shown little signs of returning to dialogue, has ramped up developments of its nuclear and missile programs.

In late March, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the expansion of the production of weapons-grade nuclear materials for an exponential increase in its arsenal.

In a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s Ambassador to the UN Hwang Joon-kook said Seoul would “gain a foothold” to play a leading role in global affairs if it wins a seat on the council.

If South Korea returns to the council, it “will serve as an opportunity to expand our diplomatic horizons”, Hwang said.

The UN body is run by five veto-wielding permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the US — and 10 non-permanent members, who are elected to serve two-year terms.

To win a non-permanent seat, a country needs to secure at least two-thirds of the votes from the countries attending the general assembly, out of the 193 member states.

ALSO READ: South Korea, US troops to hold massive live-fire drills

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S.Korea, US gear up for ‘largest-ever’ live-fire drills

This file photo, taken Aug. 31, 2022, shows the U.S. military's M1A2 tank engaging in a South Korea-U.S. combined live-fire exercise in Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, 41 kilometers north of Seoul. (Yonhap)

For the live-fire training set for June, the two sides will mobilise high-tech military equipment to demonstrate the alliance’s firepower and maneuverability….reports Asian Lite News

South Korea and the US plan to conduct the “largest-ever” combined live-fire drills in June as part of a program to celebrate the 70th anniversary of their alliance, Seoul’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

The Ministry unveiled the program designed to strengthen the allies’ solidarity, demonstrate their militaries’ technological edge and highlight their focus on “realising peace through strength via action”, reports Yonhap News Agency.

“We are planning to conduct various events, through which the South Korean and US militaries can show to the international community and North Korea what achievements we have made in the defence, military sector,” a Ministry official told reporters.

For the live-fire training set for June, the two sides will mobilise high-tech military equipment, including pieces integrating both manned and unmanned assets, to demonstrate the alliance’s firepower and maneuverability.

More than 10 such high-profile firepower demonstrations have taken place since 1977. They include both combined and South Korea-only drills.

South Korea is also seeking to hold the Armed Forces Day ceremony with the participation of the US Forces Korea (USFK) in late September to demonstrate the alliance’s “overwhelming” deterrence and response capabilities against North Korean threats, according to the ministry.

In addition, Seoul and Washington are working to craft a future defence vision of the bilateral alliance to be announced at their annual defense ministerial talks, called the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), expected to take place in October.

The South and the US signed their mutual defence treaty, a bedrock alliance document, in October 1953, after the Korean War ended in a truce three months earlier.

Meanwhile, the veterans ministry plans to hold a series of events to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that halted the Korean War, officials said.

Those include a major ceremony to be held on July 27 in Busan.

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S.Korea, US to hold talks on Korean Peninsula

It would mark their second in-person meeting in their current capacities, following their first talks on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security forum in Singapore, in June…reports Asian Lite News

The defence chiefs of South Korea and the US will hold talks in Washington DC on Friday (July 29) to discuss security on the Korean Peninsula and deterrence against evolving North Korean threats.

South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup and his counterpart, Lloyd Austin, are scheduled to meet Friday, as the allies have been cranking up security coordination amid speculation Pyongyang could ratchet up tensions by conducting a nuclear test or other provocative acts, Yonhap news agency reported.

It would mark their second in-person meeting in their current capacities, following their first talks on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security forum in Singapore, in June.

“Through this meeting, (the two sides) plan to exchange their assessments about the security situation on the peninsula and have a wide-range of discussions on various alliance issues, including efforts to enhance the enforceability of extended deterrence,” the South Korean Defence Ministry said in a press release.

Amid growing North Korean nuclear and missile threats, Seoul has been striving to ensure and strengthen the enforceability of extended deterrence, America’s stated commitment to using a full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear options, to defend its Asian ally.

While in the US, Lee plans to attend Wednesday’s ceremony celebrating the completion of the Wall of Remembrance, a Korean War monument bearing the names of 36,634 US troops and 7,174 members of the Korean Augmentation to the US Army who died during the 1950-53 conflict.

Lee will also visit the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington to express his appreciation to war veterans and hold separate meetings with former US Forces Korea commanders and officials from major US think tanks.

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